Discovery BoxJohn 7:1-53
Context7:1 After this 1 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. 2 He 3 stayed out of Judea 4 because the Jewish leaders 5 wanted 6 to kill him. 7:2 Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles 7 was near. 8 7:3 So Jesus’ brothers 9 advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. 10 7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself 11 does anything in secret. 12 If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 7:5 (For not even his own brothers believed in him.) 13
7:6 So Jesus replied, 14 “My time 15 has not yet arrived, 16 but you are ready at any opportunity! 17 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. 7:8 You go up 18 to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast 19 because my time 20 has not yet fully arrived.” 21 7:9 When he had said this, he remained in Galilee.
7:10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then Jesus 22 himself also went up, not openly but in secret. 7:11 So the Jewish leaders 23 were looking for him at the feast, asking, “Where is he?” 24 7:12 There was 25 a lot of grumbling 26 about him among the crowds. 27 Some were saying, “He is a good man,” but others, “He deceives the common people.” 28 7:13 However, no one spoke openly about him for fear of the Jewish leaders. 29
7:14 When the feast was half over, Jesus went up to the temple courts 30 and began to teach. 31 7:15 Then the Jewish leaders 32 were astonished 33 and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?” 34 7:16 So Jesus replied, 35 “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me. 36 7:17 If anyone wants to do God’s will, 37 he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority. 38 7:18 The person who speaks on his own authority 39 desires 40 to receive honor 41 for himself; the one who desires 42 the honor 43 of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, 44 and there is no unrighteousness in him. 7:19 Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps 45 the law! Why do you want 46 to kill me?”
7:20 The crowd 47 answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! 48 Who is trying to kill you?” 49 7:21 Jesus replied, 50 “I performed one miracle 51 and you are all amazed. 52 7:22 However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision 53 (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child 54 on the Sabbath. 7:23 But if a male child 55 is circumcised 56 on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken, 57 why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well 58 on the Sabbath? 7:24 Do not judge according to external appearance, 59 but judge with proper 60 judgment.”
7:25 Then some of the residents of Jerusalem 61 began to say, “Isn’t this the man 62 they are trying 63 to kill? 7:26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly, 64 and they are saying nothing to him. 65 Do the rulers really know that this man 66 is the Christ? 67 7:27 But we know where this man 68 comes from. 69 Whenever the Christ 70 comes, no one will know where he comes from.” 71
7:28 Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple courts, 72 cried out, 73 “You both know me and know where I come from! 74 And I have not come on my own initiative, 75 but the one who sent me 76 is true. You do not know him, 77 7:29 but 78 I know him, because I have come from him 79 and he 80 sent me.”
7:30 So then they tried to seize Jesus, 81 but no one laid a hand on him, because his time 82 had not yet come. 7:31 Yet many of the crowd 83 believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ 84 comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?” 85
7:32 The Pharisees 86 heard the crowd 87 murmuring these things about Jesus, 88 so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers 89 to arrest him. 90 7:33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you for only a little while longer, 91 and then 92 I am going to the one who sent me. 7:34 You will look for me 93 but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.”
7:35 Then the Jewish leaders 94 said to one another, “Where is he 95 going to go that we cannot find him? 96 He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed 97 among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? 98 7:36 What did he mean by saying, 99 ‘You will look for me 100 but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, 101 Jesus stood up and shouted out, 102 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 7:38 let the one who believes in me drink. 103 Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him 104 will flow rivers of living water.’” 105 7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, 106 because Jesus was not yet glorified.) 107
7:40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd 108 began to say, “This really 109 is the Prophet!” 110 7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” 111 But still others said, “No, 112 for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 113 7:42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant 114 of David 115 and comes from Bethlehem, 116 the village where David lived?” 117 7:43 So there was a division in the crowd 118 because of Jesus. 119 7:44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. 120
7:45 Then the officers 121 returned 122 to the chief priests and Pharisees, 123 who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?” 124 7:46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 7:47 Then the Pharisees answered, 125 “You haven’t been deceived too, have you? 126 7:48 None of the rulers 127 or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they? 128 7:49 But this rabble 129 who do not know the law are accursed!”
7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus 130 before and who was one of the rulers, 131 said, 132 7:51 “Our law doesn’t condemn 133 a man unless it first hears from him and learns 134 what he is doing, does it?” 135 7:52 They replied, 136 “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? 137 Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet 138 comes from Galilee!”
[7:1] 1 sn Again, the transition is indicated by the imprecise temporal indicator After this. Clearly, though, the author has left out much of the events of Jesus’ ministry, because chap. 6 took place near the Passover (6:4). This would have been the Passover between winter/spring of
[7:1] 2 tn Grk “Jesus was traveling around in Galilee.”
[7:1] 3 tn Grk “For he.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.
[7:1] 4 tn Grk “he did not want to travel around in Judea.”
[7:1] 5 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase should be restricted to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents.
[7:1] 6 tn Grk “were seeking.”
[7:2] 7 tn Or “feast of the Tents” (the feast where people lived in tents or shelters, which was celebrated in the autumn after harvest). John’s use of σκηνοπηγία (skhnophgia) for the feast of Tabernacles constitutes the only use of this term in the New Testament.
[7:2] 8 sn Since the present verse places these incidents at the feast of Tabernacles (
[7:3] 9 tn Grk “his brothers.”
[7:3] 10 tn Grk “your deeds that you are doing.”
[7:4] 11 tn Or “seeks to be well known.”
[7:4] 12 sn No one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret means, in effect: “if you’re going to perform signs to authenticate yourself as Messiah, you should do them at Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem is where mainstream Jewish apocalyptic tradition held that Messiah would appear.)
[7:5] 13 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[7:6] 14 tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them.”
[7:6] 15 tn Or “my opportunity.”
[7:6] 16 tn Or “is not yet here.”
[7:6] 17 tn Grk “your time is always ready.”
[7:8] 18 sn One always speaks of “going up” to Jerusalem in Jewish idiom, even though in western thought it is more common to speak of south as “down” (Jerusalem lies south of Galilee). The reason for the idiom is that Jerusalem was identified with Mount Zion in the OT, so that altitude was the issue.
[7:8] 19 tc Most
[7:8] 20 tn Although the word is καιρός (kairos) here, it parallels John’s use of ὥρα (Jwra) elsewhere as a reference to the time appointed for Jesus by the Father – the time of his return to the Father, characterized by his death, resurrection, and ascension (glorification). In the Johannine literature, synonyms are often interchanged for no apparent reason other than stylistic variation.
[7:8] 21 tn Or “my time has not yet come to an end” (a possible hint of Jesus’ death at Jerusalem); Grk “my time is not yet fulfilled.”
[7:10] 22 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:11] 23 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.
[7:11] 24 tn Grk “Where is that one?”
[7:12] 25 tn Grk “And there was.”
[7:12] 26 tn Or “complaining.”
[7:12] 27 tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in the previous verse).
[7:13] 29 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.
[7:14] 30 tn Grk “to the temple.”
[7:14] 31 tn Or “started teaching.” An ingressive sense for the imperfect verb (“began to teach” or “started teaching”) fits well here, since the context implies that Jesus did not start his teaching at the beginning of the festival, but began when it was about half over.
[7:15] 32 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.
[7:15] 33 tn Or “began to be astonished.” This imperfect verb could also be translated ingressively (“began to be astonished”), but for English stylistic reasons it is rendered as a simple past.
[7:15] 34 tn Grk “How does this man know learning since he has not been taught?” The implication here is not that Jesus never went to school (in all probability he did attend a local synagogue school while a youth), but that he was not the disciple of a particular rabbi and had not had formal or advanced instruction under a recognized rabbi (compare Acts 4:13 where a similar charge is made against Peter and John; see also Paul’s comment in Acts 22:3).
[7:16] 35 tn Grk “So Jesus answered and said to them.”
[7:16] 36 tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.
[7:17] 38 tn Grk “or whether I speak from myself.”
[7:18] 39 tn Grk “who speaks from himself.”
[7:18] 41 tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”
[7:18] 43 tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”
[7:18] 44 tn Or “is truthful”; Grk “is true.”
[7:19] 45 tn Or “accomplishes”; Grk “does.”
[7:20] 47 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in 7:15).
[7:20] 48 tn Grk “You have a demon!”
[7:20] 49 tn Grk “Who is seeking to kill you?”
[7:21] 50 tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”
[7:21] 51 tn Grk “I did one deed.”
[7:21] 52 sn The “one miracle” that caused them all to be amazed was the last previous public miracle in Jerusalem recorded by the author, the healing of the paralyzed man in John 5:1-9 on the Sabbath. (The synoptic gospels record other Sabbath healings, but John does not mention them.)
[7:22] 53 tn Grk “gave you circumcision.”
[7:22] 54 tn Grk “a man.” While the text literally reads “circumcise a man” in actual fact the practice of circumcising male infants on the eighth day after birth (see Phil 3:5) is primarily what is in view here.
[7:23] 55 tn Grk “a man.” See the note on “male child” in the previous verse.
[7:23] 56 tn Grk “receives circumcision.”
[7:23] 57 sn If a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken. The Rabbis counted 248 parts to a man’s body. In the Talmud (b. Yoma 85b) R. Eleazar ben Azariah (ca.
[7:23] 58 tn Or “made an entire man well.”
[7:24] 59 tn Or “based on sight.”
[7:24] 60 tn Or “honest”; Grk “righteous.”
[7:25] 61 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[7:25] 62 tn Grk “Is it not this one.”
[7:26] 64 tn Or “speaking openly.”
[7:26] 65 sn They are saying nothing to him. Some people who had heard Jesus were so impressed with his teaching that they began to infer from the inactivity of the opposing Jewish leaders a tacit acknowledgment of Jesus’ claims.
[7:26] 67 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:27] 69 sn We know where this man comes from. The author apparently did not consider this objection worth answering. The true facts about Jesus’ origins were readily available for any reader who didn’t know already. Here is an instance where the author assumes knowledge about Jesus that is independent from the material he records.
[7:27] 70 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:27] 71 sn The view of these people regarding the Messiah that no one will know where he comes from reflects the idea that the origin of the Messiah is a mystery. In the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97a) Rabbi Zera taught: “Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” Apparently OT prophetic passages like Mal 3:1 and Dan 9:25 were interpreted by some as indicating a sudden appearance of Messiah. It appears that this was not a universal view: The scribes summoned by Herod at the coming of the Magi in Matt 2 knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. It is important to remember that Jewish messianic expectations in the early 1st century were not monolithic.
[7:28] 72 tn Grk “the temple.”
[7:28] 73 tn Grk “Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying.”
[7:28] 74 sn You both know me and know where I come from! Jesus’ response while teaching in the temple is difficult – it appears to concede too much understanding to his opponents. It is best to take the words as irony: “So you know me and know where I am from, do you?” On the physical, literal level, they did know where he was from: Nazareth of Galilee (at least they thought they knew). But on another deeper (spiritual) level, they did not: He came from heaven, from the Father. Jesus insisted that he has not come on his own initiative (cf. 5:37), but at the bidding of the Father who sent him.
[7:28] 75 tn Grk “And I have not come from myself.”
[7:28] 76 tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.
[7:28] 77 tn Grk “the one who sent me is true, whom you do not know.”
[7:29] 78 tn Although the conjunction “but” is not in the Greek text, the contrast is implied (an omitted conjunction is called asyndeton).
[7:29] 79 tn The preposition παρά (para) followed by the genitive has the local sense preserved and can be used of one person sending another. This does not necessarily imply origin in essence or eternal generation.
[7:29] 80 tn Grk “and that one.”
[7:30] 81 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:31] 83 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).
[7:31] 84 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:31] 85 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “will he?”).
[7:32] 86 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[7:32] 87 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the Pharisees).
[7:32] 88 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:32] 89 tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing “police” duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (see K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).
[7:32] 90 tn Grk “to seize him.” In the context of a deliberate attempt by the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees to detain Jesus, the English verb “arrest” conveys the point more effectively.
[7:33] 91 tn Grk “Yet a little I am with you.”
[7:33] 92 tn The word “then” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[7:35] 94 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase is understood to refer to the Jewish authorities or leaders, since the Jewish leaders are mentioned in this context both before and after the present verse (7:32, 45).
[7:35] 96 tn Grk “will not find him.”
[7:35] 97 sn The Jewish people dispersed (Grk “He is not going to the Diaspora”). The Greek term diaspora (“dispersion”) originally meant those Jews not living in Palestine, but dispersed or scattered among the Gentiles.
[7:35] 98 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “is he?”).
[7:36] 99 tn Grk “What is this word that he said.”
[7:37] 101 sn There is a problem with the identification of this reference to the last day of the feast, the greatest day: It appears from Deut 16:13 that the feast went for seven days. Lev 23:36, however, makes it plain that there was an eighth day, though it was mentioned separately from the seven. It is not completely clear whether the seventh or eighth day was the climax of the feast, called here by the author the “last great day of the feast.” Since according to the Mishnah (m. Sukkah 4.1) the ceremonies with water and lights did not continue after the seventh day, it seems more probable that this is the day the author mentions.
[7:37] 102 tn Grk “Jesus stood up and cried out, saying.”
[7:38] 103 tn An alternate way of punctuating the Greek text of vv. 37-38 results in this translation: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38 has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate. Certainly Jesus picks up on the literal water used in the ceremony and uses it figuratively. But what does the figure mean? According to popular understanding, it refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer. There is some difficulty in locating an OT text which speaks of rivers of water flowing from within such a person, but Isa 58:11 is often suggested: “The
[7:38] 104 tn Or “out of the innermost part of his person”; Grk “out of his belly.”
[7:38] 105 sn An OT quotation whose source is difficult to determine; Isa 44:3, 55:1, 58:11, and Zech 14:8 have all been suggested.
[7:39] 106 tn Grk “for the Spirit was not yet.” Although only B and a handful of other NT
[7:39] 107 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[7:40] 108 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).
[7:40] 110 sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.
[7:41] 111 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:41] 112 tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.
[7:41] 113 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does he?”).
[7:42] 114 tn Grk “is from the seed” (an idiom for human descent).
[7:42] 115 sn An allusion to Ps 89:4.
[7:42] 116 sn An allusion to Mic 5:2.
[7:42] 117 tn Grk “the village where David was.”
[7:43] 118 tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).
[7:43] 119 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:44] 120 sn Compare John 7:30 regarding the attempt to seize Jesus.
[7:45] 121 tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin, their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing ‘police’ duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (See K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).
[7:45] 123 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[7:45] 124 tn Grk “Why did you not bring him?” The words “back with you” are implied.
[7:47] 125 tn Grk “answered them.”
[7:47] 126 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have you?”).
[7:48] 127 sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).
[7:48] 128 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have they?”).
[7:49] 129 tn Grk “crowd.” “Rabble” is a good translation here because the remark by the Pharisees is so derogatory.
[7:50] 130 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:50] 131 tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:50] 132 tn Grk “said to them.”
[7:51] 135 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does it?”).
[7:52] 136 tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”
[7:52] 137 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).
[7:52] 138 tc At least one early and important ms (Ì66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo profhths), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15.
[7:53] 139 tc This entire section, 7:53-8:11, traditionally known as the pericope adulterae, is not contained in the earliest and best
